Two Shades of Red
by Geormioned
Summary: Six months have passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. The Weasleys, plus Harry and Hermione, are back at The Burrow. Fred is alive, Ron has a secret, Hermione can't seem to stop bumping into the twins, and they don't seem to mind at all. Rated M for later chapters. NO TWINCEST! P.S. I'm not JKR and do not own Harry Potter or these characters in any way.
1. Chapter 1: A Book and A Towel

**Hello all! This is my first fanfic. I hope you enjoy! Please review and let me know what you liked or what you want to see in the future.**

**Added 8/1/14: Please forgive my ignorance when it comes to British colloquialisms. I have never been to London and only know things from TV and movies, so the beautiful accents that Queen Rowling so clearly expressed are absent from my work here. The characters sound much more American...so sorry!**

* * *

Six months had passed since Voldemort and his horcruxes were destroyed. The Burrow had been rebuilt, not to it's former glory, but good enough to live in. The Weasley family, minus Charlie, Percy, Bill, and Fleur, were together again under the same roof, along with their favorite honorary Weasleys: Harry and Hermione.

Hermione woke up to the buzzing of her pillow. She had set an alarm charm on it the previous night in hopes of getting the first shower, and the most hot water, of the day. She quietly slipped into her bathrobe, not wanting to wake her roommate, the youngest Weasley, Ginny. She hung her shower caddy over her left arm, grabbed a book, and headed downstairs to the only working bathroom. She began to read as she walked and placed a waterproofing spell on the book and it's pages before dropping her wand in one of the pockets of her fluffy, purple robe.

The book in front of her eyes kept her from seeing where she was going, but she had done this many times before and never missed a step. However, she hadn't accounted for someone being awake yet and as a result walked straight into the tall, muscular body of someone leaving the bathroom as she was entering it.

She dropped her book and he dropped his towel at the same time.

* * *

George hadn't been able to sleep well the night before and figured he might as well start the day with a hot shower. He hadn't bothered to bring a robe, knowing that no one else would be up this early.

His shower finished, he wrapped one towel around his waist and was running another through his wet hair as he left the bathroom to head upstairs to the room he shared with his twin brother, Fred. Instead, the air was knocked from his lungs, as a rather large book followed by a rather curly set of brown hair seemed to appear out of nowhere and walk straight into his abdomen.

"Oi," he muttered as he felt the towel around his waist begin to slip. He grabbed it quickly with one hand, but dropped the sopping wet hair towel on top of the book Hermione Granger had just fumbled.

She bent at the knees to retrieve the items and the robe opened over her right leg, revealing much more of her porcelain skin than he had previously been privy too. He hesitated slightly, struck still by the view, before leaning to grab his towel.

At the same time, she stood up quickly with both things in her hands. Their faces were within inches of each other and he controlled his urge to lean in and kiss her. "Where had that come from?" he thought to himself.

He muttered an apology for getting her book damp, grabbed his towel from her hand and began to walk off.

"But where's…" she said.

"George?" he finished, "Geez Hermione, we don't do _everything_ together!"

She blushed and he felt the urge to kiss the away the color in her cheeks, as she said, "I know that!" and walked into the bathroom but not before shouting, "And I know that you're George!"

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**Reviews are welcome and greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: A Bath and A High Five

Hermione closed the door behind her and shook her head, feeling the warmth rise in her cheeks. How could she have thought they would both be in here? How could she have let the thought escape her lips? What will George think of her?

As each question entered her mind, only to be quickly replaced by another, she felt her anxiety grow. Finally, she shook her head sharply from side to side to get the questions to stop. She determined, as she always did, to simply come up with a logical explanation.

She did her best thinking in the shower, so she removed her robe and hung it on a hook along the wall. She stepped into the shower/tub combo, pulling the curtain closed behind her, and turned the knobs to create a comfortably warm waterfall in which to bathe. At least he hadn't used all the hot water.

She tried to think of an explanation for her question, couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering to his body. She hadn't seen everything, thanks to his quick Quidditch reflexes, but she had never been so close to his bare chest before. It made her mind wander to thoughts of what was under the towel and if his twin had the same chiseled features. Another quick shake of her head, flinging water from wall to curtain and floor to ceiling, "I must stop this," she told herself aloud, "I'm with Ron."

* * *

George entered his bedroom, still thinking of her exposed skin, and began to dress himself. He was deep in thought, imagining what the robe was covering, when he was pelted in the back of the head with a rolled up, dirty sock.

"Hey, Georgie! Can you hear me?" his brother shouted.

George shushed his twin, "No need to wake the entire house, Fred."

"Well I've been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes, but you were somewhere else. What's got your thoughts so far away?"

"Her legs," he mumbled, more to himself than to Fred.

"Her legs? Whose legs?" Fred demanded. "Don't make me beat it out of you," he threatened, getting into a fighting stance, and smiling.

"Like you could," George countered, but knew better than to keep secrets from his twin. "Hermione's legs," he stated.

Fred stuttered out "Hermione's legs?" before continuing, "What do you mean Hermione's legs!? What were you doing with her legs, George? She's with Ron…our brother, remember?"

George saw the steam building in his brother's mind. Fred was always quick to speak and slow to listen. "Calm down, I know she's with Ron and I wasn't doing anything with her legs!" he explained, "Well, except admiring the view. Have you ever seen them Fred? I never realized how long they are before…" he trailed off, lost in thought again.

Fred crossed the room and snapped his fingers in front of George's face a few times. He didn't want to admit that he had thought of them before, had thought of her like that before. "It doesn't matter what she looks like, George, or how much you want to touch her; she's with Ron. She's not an option," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Fred, who said anything about touching?" George responded with a smirk.

"Shut up and explain yourself, you git!"

George described their run-in outside the bathroom and both of them laughed at the thought of Hermione's embarrassment. They had never pranked her directly before, sensing that she might take it personally and not having any reason to personally offend her. They both refused to admit they were slightly afraid of how she would hex them if they did, but instead began discussing how they could best use this to their advantage, passing the time before breakfast.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, "Breakfast is ready," Molly Weasley said with her wand pointed to her throat, making sure she was heard in each room of the house without shouting.

* * *

Hermione and Ginny left their room, chatting back and forth, and headed downstairs along with everyone else. Hermione hadn't shared the news of her encounter with George with his sister. She didn't think Ginny would want to hear how she had used the water's warmth and pressure to relieve the sexual tension that was building inside her as thoughts of Fred and George refused to leave her alone.

Outwardly she was gossiping about Lavender Brown's latest escapades, but inwardly she was determined not to let the twins get the better of her. She knew George would tell Fred, and didn't mind that so much as the thought of how they would use this against her. The only defense against them was to see it coming and cut it off before they got started.

Hermione and Ginny joined the others at the large, eclectic dining table, taking seats next to each other and across from Harry and Ron, each person smiling at their counterpart. She saw Fred and George out of the corner of her eye, each already digging into a large stack of pancakes. They hadn't even seemed to notice she was there.

* * *

They had noticed, but they had waited. Their carefully laid out plan would only work if she hadn't told anyone, and they didn't have that information yet. As soon as they witnessed her casual conversation with Ginny, her gentle smile towards Ron, and the lack of dirty glares from their siblings, they knew she had kept it to herself.

They high-fived each other under the table and knew the game was on.

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**Please review and let me know what you think!**

**- Geo**


	3. Chapter 3: A Prank and A Dream

**Thanks for sticking with me so far! It picks up soon, just stick with me, ok? :)**

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Chapter Three: A Prank and A Dream

Breakfast was uneventful if you don't count the pancake-eating contest that began between the twins and Ron; Ron won with seventeen, Fred came in second with fifteen, and George was last with twelve. The whole table applauded their efforts and Mrs. Weasley just shook her head wondering if their appetites would ever subside.

Afterwards, they all headed towards the back yard, except for Fred and George who had to do the dishes due to losing to Ron. They didn't mind. It gave them a few more minutes to finalize the details of their scheme. Even with magic, this amount of dishes would take a while to clean and put away.

Hermione didn't like the thought of them alone together. She knew they were scheming and that for once their sights were set on her. She had always appreciated how they were careful to not involve her in their jokes; she knew if they had she would simply breakdown into tears. She was just too sensitive when it came to being embarrassed.

Destroy a horcrux of the most powerful dark wizard of all time? Feel the fear and face it anyway was her motto.

Be embarrassed in front of her friends or even strangers? Puddle of tears. Why else would she study all the time? She never wanted to be humiliated in a classroom full of people she knew. She always had the right answer.

She could feel that this was about to change however. They were coming for her specifically and there was a high probability she would fall on her face, whether literally or metaphorically, and she wasn't happy about either possibility. She continued to prepare for it mentally, or at least attempt to, but knew it wouldn't be possible. They were too clever, even for her.

Twenty nervous-filled minutes passed before they finally joined the others outside.

* * *

The final dish was in its place, and the mess they had created while throwing soap bubbles and water at each other had been cleaned up. They headed outside to join the others.

They were not disappointed to see that Hermione was the first to notice their arrival. She almost jumped at the sound of the back door closing, and seemed relieved to see their faces.

"She knows we're planning something," Fred whispered.

"Even better," said George.

* * *

Hermione sat alone in the library. It was really the living room, but she always thought of it as the library in her mind because there were so many books there, among all the other knick knacks of life to be found in a home filled with nine magical people over the past 30 years. It was her favorite room in the whole Burrow. She tried to spend some time in there every day and today was no exception.

She had found one of Mrs. Weasley's books _Tips and Tricks for the Stay at Home Witch_ and poured over its pages, wishing she could teach her own mom these things. There were two reasons she couldn't: one, her mom was not a witch, and two, she still hadn't been able to find her parents in Australia. She didn't even know what their new names were, having kept that information from herself in an attempt to protect them lest she be interrogated by the enemy. Now that the enemy was gone, she was left to hunt them down muggle style, and it was a slow process.

Thoughts of her mother and father disappeared when the book flew from her hands. A twin towered above her having grabbed the book from her, smiling.

* * *

"Give it back!" she demanded, holding her hand out. She couldn't believe they were going to do this here, in her favorite room. At least no one else would be around to see it; this was the best she could hope for.

"I will, if…"

"What do you want?" she cut him off, just wanting to get this over with.

"I want you to kiss me," he said, more than pleased with the blush that rose in her face.

"Kiss you? But it wasn't even you I bumped into this morning, Fred," she said with a satisfied sense of pride as his eyes faltered. She could always tell them apart and she knew it bugged them to no end.

"That's true, but it doesn't change my price," he stated, realizing the first part of the plan hadn't worked. They could never fool her, but they'd never stop trying either.

"Fine," she stated, standing and trying to appear more confident than she felt. She stood on her toes and kissed him quickly on the cheek, knowing her own cheeks were as red as his hair in the process.

"No, a real kiss, love," he said before wrapping his free hand around her waist, pulling her close, and putting his lips on hers that were still held in a surprised, "Oh" pose. As soon as they made contact, he knew this wasn't a joke kiss, not on her side or his. She kissed him back, even leaving her lips slightly open begging for his tongue to explore further, but he resisted, pulling away with a smile before he tossed the book to his brother.

"My turn," said George, grinning from ear to where his other ear should have been.

* * *

She turned as quickly as she could, still dazed from being kissed by Fred.

"Your turn what?" she stated, realizing this was all a dream and smiling. She must have fallen asleep in the library, but that's ok, she hadn't had one of these dreams in a while and they were always so good.

"You have to kiss me too if you want your book back," teased George. He looked over her should at his brother whose smile faltered, why hadn't she hit him or hexed him or even seem embarrassed? This wasn't the Hermione they knew, and his confidence faltered as she strode towards him with a fire in her eyes he hadn't seen before.

"I don't really care about the book, but I'll kiss you anyway, George, if you say you really want it," she cooed. She loved the dream version of herself, wishing she could be this way in real life, asking directly for what she wanted.

She was standing closer to him than they had even been in the hallway and was tracing her finger down his chest making his heart thump. He thought to himself that she must be bluffing and he knew backing down wasn't an option; Fred would never let him hear the end of it if he did, so he had to say it, and it wasn't a lie.

"I really want it, 'Mione."

"You know I love it when you call me that," she teased before putting her arms around his neck and pulling his lips down to hers. She kissed him passionately, wondering why this dream felt so much better than the previous ones, when he pushed her away. That had never happened in the other dreams.

* * *

"Damn it Hermione, I'm his brother! I can't believe you would do that to Ron!" George said.

"It's not a dream," she said aloud, not intending to.

"No, this isn't a dream," said Fred, his anger barely under the surface. It may be his younger brother who he loved to torment, but still, no girl should do this to him.

"But then why did you…" she trailed off, with a look of confusion in her face and tears appearing in her eyes.

"To make you run and tell Ron of course," said Fred.

"You would be embarrassed," said George.

"And he would be pissed,"

"And we'd prank you both at the same time," finished George.

She was silent, her face had lost its color, and she was holding back tears as she turned and ran up the stairs, the book forgotten.

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**Please Review and let me know what you think! I hope I'm not wasting my time writing this...**

**- Geo**


	4. Chapter 4: A Cry and A Confession

Chapter Four: A Cry and A Confession

Hermione ran upstairs, past the room she shared with Ginny, and into the one Harry shared with Ron. They jumped in surprise as she burst through the door, but immediately stood up, wands raised, ready to defend their friend against whatever attacker came behind her.

She ran straight to Ron's bed and buried her head in his pillow, trying to stifle the sound of her tears. How could this have happened? It was worse than any of the scenarios she had thought up throughout the day. How could she ever face them again? What they must think of her…

Ron and Harry lowered their wands, realizing there weren't any deatheaters left to attack them. They turned to their friend and each sat next to her on the bed, laying a hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her.

"Deep breaths Hermione, deep breaths," Harry said, trying to help her calm down. He wondered what could have gotten her so upset? He looked up to see Ron looking at him and mouthing the words, "Her parents."

Her breaths started coming less quickly and the knot in her throat was loosening its grip on her vocal cords. The tears were still falling, but she was back in control. She sat up on the edge of the bed, patting her friend's hands as the fell to their laps.

"Can you talk about it, Hon?" probed Ron, not wanting to push her too much.

"Is it your parents? Are they alright?" questioned Harry, getting right to the point.

"No, no, they're alright. I mean, I hope they are; I still haven't heard anything."

"Then why the tears, babe? What could make my Hermione cry like that?" Ron asked.

"They," she started, feeling the tears well back up and taking a few deep breaths to keep them at bay, "they kissed me."

"Who kissed you?" said Harry.

"The twins."

"My brothers kissed you," Ron put together slowly, "without your consent." He stood quickly, headed towards the door with Harry in quick pursuit, when they were both pulled back, hard.

"No, no, not like that, Ron. It wasn't a forced kiss. They kissed me as a joke, as a prank, and it hurt my feelings, that's all," she said with a sniffle, trying to make it sound nonchalant.

Both men sat down again, still confused. Harry began, "And it hurt your feelings because…"

"You didn't want it to be a joke," finished Ron, solemnly.

Oh gods, she thought, I can't believe we're actually having this conversation. "Yes, okay, yes I wanted it to be real and not a joke." she said in a rush.

The room was silent. Hermione was looking down at her hands, playing with the hem of her skirt, waiting for someone to say something. Harry was looking down, confused.

Ron snorted. The others looked up to see his hand over his mouth and laughter in his eyes. "It's perfect!" he cried.

"What?" came in a surprised tone from both Harry and Hermione.

"It's a triad," he exclaimed, as if they should know exactly what this means, "I don't know why I didn't see it before."

"A triad." Hermione stated, the word feeling foreign as she said it.

"What's that?" Harry asked.

"Do muggles not have triads?" Ron replied. His friends shook their heads from side to side. "Well, that sucks," he stated, but continued, "A triad is like a romantic couple, except there's three instead of two. Happens a lot with twins, which is why I can't believe I never thought of it before with my brothers. It's pretty simple really, when you think about it."

"So wait," started Harry, "You're telling me that the wizarding world has accepted triads, but still hasn't accepted homosexuality?"

"Just because we have magic doesn't mean we're perfect," stated Ron with a shrug of his shoulders.

"But I can't be part of a triad," Hermione interrupted.

"And why not darling?" asked Ron, putting a hand on her knee, "I think you're perfect for them," he said with a smile.

"Because I'm with you dumdum!" she uttered with a laugh and a playful punch to his arm.

"Oh yeah, you're right about that," Ron muttered, his forehead crinkled in thought. A few second later, his face relaxed and he said, "I guess I'll just have to tell them."

"Tell who?" his friends asked.

"Tell them all. Tell everyone," he responded, shrugging as if this was no big deal.

"No, no, you don't have to do that Ron," stated Hermione, remembering what Ron had told Harry and her about the wizard community's thoughts on being gay. It was almost as big a political debate as being pureblood or muggle born.

"Hermione," Ron started, "I destroyed a horcrux filled with part of Voldemort's soul. I can tell my family I'm gay."


	5. Chapter 5: A Meal and A Light Bulb

**Author's Note: I believe I owe you an apology as the previous version of this chapter didn't quite due Ron's coming out justice. I feel this still doesn't cover every aspect of the situation, but is much better than before. I have bolded the parts that changed if you only want to read those. Sorry for any inconvenience! Thank you for reading!**

The next morning Hermione came to breakfast with Harry and Ron. She sat between them at the table, with Ginny on Harry's other side. Ron smiled at the twins as they glared at Hermione.

Fred looked to George, "She hasn't told him," he whispered, unheard by anyone else over the din caused by so many.

"Then we will," George replied.

"Tonight," they said together.

* * *

The meal was almost over and Ron still hadn't made his announcement. She couldn't stand the way Fred and George were looking at her. She stepped on Ron's foot under the table. He didn't seem to notice, so she stepped on it harder.

He raised his leg up, bumping his knee on the table and causing cups to spill their contents all over. "Too hard," she thought.

"Well, now that I have everyone's attention," Ron remarked sarcastically, standing to his feet while rubbing his knee, "I have an announcement to make."

Everyone looked expectantly at him and Hermione whose hand he had just grasped in his as they shared a knowing smile. She gave his hand another tight squeeze, telling him in her own way that everything would be okay.

Fred and George stood up simultaneously, with hands raised and mouths open, about to tell everyone about the previous evening's events, when they were suddenly sitting again.

"No need to stand up, boys," Ron joked, looking to Harry, knowing his wand was under the table, pointed at his brothers, controlling their moves.

Fred's thoughts raced, trying to think of a way to get out of this curse and stop Ron before he made a huge mistake. George stared directly at Harry, knowing it was him who was keeping him this way, plotting what would have to be done to break up the engagement that he knew was about to be announced.

"Mom, don't get too excited, Hermione's not pregnant," Ron started, laughing when he saw his mom's smile fall a little. "In fact, Hermione and I am no longer a couple," everyone at the table gasped (with the exception of the twins, of course), wondering why she was still smiling up at him, "Because I'm finally going to tell you what I should have told you years ago," he took a deep breath, "I'm gay." He sat down, readying himself for whatever they may say, knowing his bags were already packed up stairs.

* * *

"Well that was unexpected," stuttered Fred, always the first to speak.

George flexed his arms away from his body, testing how much Harry had dropped his curse and smiling when Harry set his wand on the table. He mouthed a silent thank you to his brother's best friend, understanding now why it had been necessary to restrain them. Harry merely tilted his head in response.

Hermione beamed at Ron, she was so proud of him in this moment.

Suddenly, both George and Fred had their youngest brother in a big hug, slapping him on the back, and congratulating him on such a brave move. Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley smiled at each other, unsure of how to respond, but unwavering in their love for their son. Ginny giggled.

**Ron took a steadying breath, unable to believe that he was still standing after having made such a revelation to his family. He had expected tears of disappointment from his parents, maybe even yelling or hexing. Instead, as he looked from face to face, he saw only surprise and support from those who loved him most. Finally his eyes rested on the face of the woman who had helped him to this point of strength, Hermione. He sat back down and gave her a heartfelt hug, whispering his fervent gratitudes into her ear, aware that she would be the first to hit him if he put her in the spotlight.**

**Ron knew that this was only the beginning of his outing, and that more people would have to be told before he would feel the freedom of being known and no longer hiding this part of himself, but this was a start: a beautiful start.**

* * *

After everyone had congratulated Ron on his courage to come out, things had settled back down. Everyone finished their meal and eventually went on about their business. George and Fred went to their room, needing to discuss what had just happened.

"So our little brother's gay," stated Fred, but not really wanting to talk about that, not thinking it was really that big of a deal.

"Which means she wasn't cheating on him when she kissed us," continued George, changing the subject and feeling his chest fill with hope he didn't know he had been suppressing. He looked at his brother, expecting to see him with the same silly grin on his face as George had on his own, but was surprised to see his brother pacing with a puzzled expression on his features.

Before he could ask what he was thinking, Fred started, "We're missing something. There's something off about all of this and we have to figure out what it is. Let's review… what exactly happened last night?"

George started, grateful again for his brother's over-thinking tendencies, "You took her book, pretending to be me, and told her she had to kiss you to get it back, as planned."

Fred continued, "She knew I wasn't you, as expected, and she kissed me on the cheek, as expected. I pulled her in to kiss her, and she kissed me back." He looked up at his twin, "She kissed me back George, like she really wanted to kiss me."

"And then you threw the book to me, as planned," George said, ignoring Fred's description of his kiss, "and I said she had to kiss me too. Then she was different. It was a different Hermione that came to me."

"And then you begged her to kiss you," stated Fred.

"I didn't beg!" George said, defending himself.

"I really want it, 'Mione," Fred mimicked in a high pitch voice.

"You're just mad you didn't call her that first, because now you know how much she likes it!" retorted George.

"You're right. You're right. Let's get back on track. She kissed you …"

"And I pushed her away because she was kissing me like she'd been wanting to do it for a while and it pissed me off. I thought she was with Ron," said George, wishing he hadn't pushed her away, wishing the kiss had lasted much longer.

"And then she mentioned something about a dream," murmured Fred.

"A dream?" asked George, shaken from his memory of their kiss, "hmmm… why would she think it was a dream?"

Fred's mind was a step ahead of George's and a smile spread across his face as he almost screamed, "Because she's done that before; she's had a dream like that before!"

Their eyes met, both seeing the other's lopsided grin.

"She wants me," they said in unison, smiles disappearing.


	6. Chapter 6: A Game and A Seeker

**Author's Note: Ok, so you may have noticed that the previous Chapter 6 has been deleted. I had a plan for where this story was going and as I started going down that road I realized that I hated the Hermione I was writing. I just couldn't continue. If you would like to, you can PM me and I would be happy to tell you where I was going with that story; I know I had left lots of questions unanswered. **

**Well, here's the new chapter. I like this SO much better than the previous one. I hope you like it too. **

Under the pretense of delving further into their brother's personal story, the twins approached the room where the Golden Trio (plus Ginny) were hanging out. They knew this was wrong, to use Ron's big moment for their personal gain, but they'd pay him back later, maybe give him a share of their store. Well, half a share.

"Whatcha doin'?" Fred drawled as they entered the room.

"Just playing," replied Ginny.

Indeed, they were playing Weasley's Wizard Chess. It's very similar to the original, except in Fred's and George's version the pieces exploded and their contents went everywhere. Some pieces were full of fun things like glitter, confetti, or candy, but some pieces were full of not-so-fun things like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, stink bombs, or obnoxiously loud fart sounds that wouldn't go away until the next piece broke. The winner was always rewarded with a fireworks show that the loser couldn't see, which always left the loser dying to play again as the everyone else's eyes went wide with wonder. It was one of their best sellers.

And this moment, watching their siblings play _their_ game, this is what it was all about for the twins. They smiled, each leaning against an opposite side of the door frame, watching something they had made bring so much joy to an otherwise boring day.

Ginny's rook had just taken out Ron's knight and suddenly the room went dark. Everyone screamed and giggled, except for the twins who counted aloud.

"1 hippogriff," whispered Fred.

"2 hippogriffs," laughed George.

"3 hippogriffs," said Ron.

"4 hippogriffs," exclaimed Hermione, her smile evident in the lilt of her voice.

Silence followed for a single beat and the darkness faded revealing Harry and Ginny snogging. Mutters of disgust came from the other gingers in the room as Hermione threw a pillow at them to get their attention.

"So what brings you two here?" asked Ron, trying to forget what he had just seen going on between his best mate and his little sister.

"Well, after your announcement this morning, we got curious," started Fred.

"What was happening between you two for the past however many years if you haven't been together?" finished George.

Hermione's cheeks flushed and she looked up at Ron to begin, who happily obliged, "I realized in our second year that I wasn't interested in girls in the same way that all the other boys were," getting right to the nitty gritty. "I tried to hide it, pretending to have a crush on the beautiful Hermione here," pulling the witch into a quick side hug, "but she never once fell for it. It was actually her idea to lead everyone on into thinking we were a couple, or that we at least liked each other as more than just friends and everything was going well until fourth year. That is when things got, well, complicated."

Fred cleared his throat, "The triwizard cup? I'm confused…what does that have to do with this? You weren't even in the tournament."

"Yeah, but my boyfriend was."

At this, both twins looked at Harry, who quickly turned beet red, shook his head from side to side, and almost spit pumpkin juice out of his nose, "No, not me. Definitely not me. No offense Ron."

"None taken mate. I mean, you're not really my type."

"Hey, hey! I am a seeker and you have a thing for them!"

Hermione interrupted the spat beginning between her two best friends, "Come on guys," looking at the twins, "you've got all the clues you need. Figure it out."

"Triwizard tournament competitor," whispered Fred.

"Seeker," mumbled George

All the pieces fell in place and together they shouted, "You're dating Viktor Krum!?" while simultaneously falling from their chairs.

"Well, yeah," Ron said with a shrug, "obviously," and with that he motioned his hands to the walls which were covered in moving pictures of Bulgaria's favorite seeker. "We've been dating on and off since the tournament." explained Ronald with a lopsided grin on his face that he just couldn't suppress at the thought of his hot, Quidditch playing boyfriend.

"But how? This just doesn't make sense. Viktor took Hermione to the Yule Ball," Fred says, looking around the room from face to face.

"I went with Viktor so Ron and I could stage a fight and then they would both be free to spend the evening together," explained Hermione, "And I've kept up the act ever since, saying that we are just friendly pen pals, when in fact I have never read one of his letters addressed to me because I just forward them here to Ron. He responds by sending the letter to me and I send them on to Viktor. It's a bit laborious, I admit, but then again, I've always been a romantic and they are so cute together," she ends with a smile and a playful punch to her red-headed friend.

"OK, so while Ron was secretly dating Viktor bloody Krum, who were you secretly with," George asked Hermione.

She blushed at his direct question, "No one."

"No one? What about Seamus or Neville? They always had a thing for you," said Fred.

"What?" sputtered Hermione, completely unaware that many of the boys at school had liked her at one time or another.

Behind her the game of Weasley's Wizard Chess between Ginny and Ron continued. "Well, I couldn't very well be seen gallivanting around behind Ron's back, now could I? I mean, I know it wasn't real, but everyone else thought it was, so they would have really thought I was cheating on him, and I couldn't do that. I respect him and myself too much. Also, I didn't want people to doubt his cover story, you know?"

"So you've never been on a date?" questioned Fred, briefly making eye contact with George who raised an eyebrow.

"No, I guess I haven't," replied Hermione, trying to keep the feeling of embarrassment from creeping into her voice.

"Checkmate," declared Ginny, triumphantly, and the conversation between Hermione, Fred, and George ended as the small fireworks show began, everyone laughing as Ron pouted, unable to see what they could.

* * *

**Colubrina: Thank you for reviewing! As I've said before, LOVE YOU!**


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